Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Penfield Town Board Dumps Privatization Resolution; CSEA In The House

Penfield, N.Y. In an
unexpected twist, the Penfield Town Board decided to strike a resolution
(Public Works 13T-219) from the written record awarding a contract to outsource
snow and ice removal on residential roads. More than 50 people shuffled in to
the auditorium at Penfield Town Hall on Atlantic Avenue on the evening of December
4. Not having any preconceived notions about an outcome before the meeting, most
of the attendees were visibly startled by the news that the resolution was
being removed from the agenda. The motion was delivered emphatically by
Councilwoman Paula Metzler.

In a 4-1 vote, board members refused to take up the issue of whether
residents should be paying for privatizing work details that are already performed
by CSEA unionized public employees in the Department of Public Works.

According to the Penfield Town Board Meeting Agenda, elected officials
selected A.P. Property Services, 1653 Woodard Road, Webster, NY as the contractor
to provide snow and ice removal. The Voice Reporter searched the NYS Board of
Elections File Disclosure Reports and found the owner of the company, Sean Fico
of Webster, NY, to have no reporting data filed or any political donations listed
on the website. In a related search and even more curious to interested observers,
there was no record of the Penfield Town Supervisor ever filing a financial
disclosure report with the NYS Board of Elections.

Bess Watts, President of CSEA Monroe County Local 828, told the
Voice Reporter the privatization fight is far from over. “While we are pleased
the board took this action tonight, we still have a tough fight ahead to fend
off elected officials who demonize public services and the workers who provide
them,” said Watts.

“Some local government leaders like to take credit for cutting
public payrolls. They think this a good thing,” said CSEA activist Ove
Overmyer. He added, “They are the same elected officials who create unholy
alliances with political cronies and donors and weaken middle class working families. Never mind that the extra cost to
provide outsourced services simply shift dollars to a different, often hidden
budget line-- and sometimes at greater expense. There is no savings for taxpayers by outsourcing public services. Privatization will always be a threat as long as unscrupulous politicians
know there is money to be made in the public services sector.”

CSEA would like to thank our union brothers and sisters from Ontario and Wayne County for their show of support and solidarity at this meeting. CSEA would also like to publicly thank board members Kohl, Metzler, Moore and
Quinn for their due diligence and vote of confidence in their existing workforce.
Town Supervisor Tony LaFountain was the lone dissenter.

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